Executive immunity clause and its effects on the fight against corruption in Nigeria

Abstract

The Nigerian 1999 Constitution enshrined an outrageous and controversial clause known as the ‘Immunity Clause’ in Section 306 of the Constitution which provides maximum protection for the executive office holders at the Federal and State levels. Hence, the President, Vice President, Governors and their Deputies are immune from any investigation or sanction during their tenure in office even if they commit an offence or a breach of trust such as corruption. This study analysed critically the provision of the immunity clause and its effects on engendering corruption by the executive office holders in Nigeria. The study empirically examined top political office holders who hold executive offices from 1999 to 2020 that were under investigation for protected corrupt practices during their office days. The study utilised the secondary sources of data collection because the paper is a conceptual descriptive one. Sources such as books, journal articles, newspapers, reports and internet sources are utilised. Elite Theory was used to strengthen the literature in the work. The data collected were analysed and interpreted using content analysis where discussions and interpretations were made using the context of the existing knowledge for contribution. The work discovered that the presence of the immunity clause is preventing the fight against corruption from being actualised and it is helping in escalating corrupt practices. The work recommends among other suggestions that the clause should be removed and allow the executive office holders to face their actions even while in office to ensure transparency.